Tuesday, October 21, 2008

MasterYourCard had a great post on Friday on Gifts vs. Charity: The Fine Line. Boy, do I understand where the woman in her article is coming from! Financially hurt by divorce and dealing with life's emergencies - and not wanting to borrow from mom. Both my mother and my sister have offered me financial assistance if I should need it. I haven't taken it, and I hope I never have to. Part of it, of course, is the unwillingness to take charity, but the other part is simply that I see them as my safety net.

As I have talked about in this blog before, when I realized the situation I was in, one of the first things I did was sit down and make a big list of things I could do to raise money. Then I went through that list and ranked them from easiest "no-brainers" to "ugh! I don't wanna." Borrowing from mom and sis is definitely on the "ugh! I don't wanna" list. But here's the thing, I always know I can, and that's important. It means that if all else fails, no matter what, I always have a fallback plan. I can't tell you how much that helps - just that knowledge alone helps me sleep better. And even though "I don't wanna" you can bet if the times comes, I will.

You know, in the past four months or so I've been on this journey, I have changed my mind about a lot of charity. There was a time when I wouldn't take anything, even advice, from anyone. I've gotten over that. My friends and family have been so unbelievably generous in so, so many ways.

Even people I wouldn't expect have helped me - friends' parents and family I haven't talked in years. It isn't so much money, but other things - I've talked here about free plants, food and other things I've been given. Others have offered me items to sell on eBay, Amazon and Half. Here's a fun example - my aunt was at a dollar store and found padded envelopes, the nice big ones I use for shipping books - at 6 for $1. She bought $42 worth! Which turned out to be four huge garbage bag sized bags full of envelopes! I can just imagine her trying to get them in the back of her car. How wonderful is that?

On top of all that, I have also been sent cards and emails, and gotten phone calls of support. People send me articles they have read that might help me, other friends have taken me out or invite me to their homes for wine and conversation. Every friend I have has helped me in one way or another, and you know what? I don't feel bad about accepting their charity - not at all. Instead I feel like one of the most loved people on planet earth. I thank the stars every day that I am so fortunate to have such good people in my life.

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Getting Nine Hundred Goal

March GoalI need - $491I have - $409At the end of June 2008 I took over the house my ex and I bought while married. I needed to get nine hundred dollars a month over and above my 40 hour take home pay to fight going into foreclosure and avoid going under. After one year, I now can make it without the extra income, but I still have lots of financial goals ahead!

About Me

I am a single woman who has found herself with a mortgage she can't pay. I am not a victim of the credit disaster like many Americans. Mine stems from a much older problem... divorce.
When my ex and I split, the agreement was that he would take the "marital home." Unfortunately, he was unable to get a loan to get the home refinanced. When the dust settled, I ended up taking over the home to keep it out of foreclosure.
This blog is about me finding a way to pay for it that doesn't involve illegal activities, starvation or working two forty hour jobs and going insane. My goal is to find ways through increasing my income, decreasing my expenses and using the assets I have to make each monthly payment.
So how much more do I need each month?
$900.00
So, let's see how I do, shall we? Coming up with $900 more a month can't be too hard, can it? ...gulp...